Manchester United have signed six strikers in the last seven years and only of them has been under 30, although it should be pointed out that he was a failure as well. When it comes to picking their goalscorers, this is a club that has been getting it wrong more often than it's been getting it right.
Odion Ighalo and Wout Weghorst will be bizarre footnotes in United history, players whose good fortune it was to be available when things got desperate. Edinson Cavani and Zlatan Ibrahimovic were ageing goalscorers who became cult heroes, but only very briefly.
Cristiano Ronaldo was the returning hero who soured his legacy and Romelu Lukaku was the young gun, the 24-year-old signed for £75million who is still infuriating United fans with his glaring misses four years after he left the club.
It's a disastrous record and the last man standing is Antony Martial, signed as a wide forward for £50million in 2015, now wearing the No. 9 shirt unconvincingly and injured as often as he's available. After eight years and almost 300 appearances, there have still been just 88 goals.
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So it's no surprise that Erik ten Hag is desperate for a striker this season and just as desperate for it to be Harry Kane. The 29-year-old is as close as it gets to a guarantee of goals in the Premier League and his tally of 30 in a struggling Tottenham team last season was sensational.
The problem is that Daniel Levy looks steadfast in his refusal to sell to a Premier League club. Napoli owner Aurelio Aurelio De Laurentiis is also holding firm with Victor Osimhen, who was the other elite striker that could have been on the market this summer.
That has left United pursuing alternatives further down the list. Atalanta want silly money for 20-year-old Rasmus Hojlund and Eintracht Frankfurt's Randal Kolo Muani and Goncalo Ramos with Benfica come with risks attached when it comes to moving to a big Premier League club.
United are also operating in a window where they need to watch their budget. The £60million signing of Mason Mount has swallowed up around half of the initial transfer spend allocated to Ten Hag and while it can be boosted with sales, a new goalkeeper is also required.
So while signing a striker would clearly improve this team, there is also an argument that United should do what they've made a habit of recently and opt for a short-term option for 12 months, before signing a higher-calibre player next summer.
That isn't the solution many fans would want, but spending millions is never a guarantee of success, as Lukaku proved. Maybe Kolo Muani, Ramos, or someone else, can make the step up, but that's far from certain.
Instead, the market next year could be easier to operate in. If Bayern Munich don't sign Kane this summer then he will be available on a free in 2024. Osimhen might stay with Napoli for an assault on the Champions League but he will surely move on next summer.
There is also the chance that Hojlund, Kolo Muani or Ramos will state their case even more impressively next season. Maybe Tammy Abraham will tear up Serie A, or Jonathan David continue his progress at Lille. There might even be more Premier League options next summer if Evan Ferguson or Julio Enciso have impressive seasons again at Brighton.
But primarily the case for waiting centres around Kane and Osimhen, the two best strikers who are likely to be available soon, but increasingly looking unavailable this summer. United could roll the dice now and get it wrong, or they could wait a year and put the odds in their favour.
It's certainly not an ideal solution for this season, but United finished third in 2022/23 and reached two cup finals despite their issues at centre forward.
Weghorst showed the dangers of making short-term signings in the second half of this season. Ten Hag praised his role but a return of two goals from 31 games was a let-down
If United do opt for another stop-gap solution, then it needs to be better than that. A Joao Felix maybe, or an Alvaro Morata, or even Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting, who has performed so consistently for Bayern Munch. They've tracked Moussa Dembele previously and the former Celtic striker is now a free agent after leaving Lyon, although the 26-year-old has had a couple of difficult seasons.
They could even look to sign a striker in the £30million bracket with a view to selling Martial in 12 months. Maybe they missed a trick by not rivalling Chelsea for the signing of Nicolas Jackson from Villarreal.
It's clear Ten Hag needs to overhaul his options at centre forward, but less clear is how he goes about it. Maybe United will take a risk on someone further down their list this summer, but don't be surprised if that doesn't work out. The odds will be stronger in 2024.
